The Centre for the New Midlands and St Basils are delighted to invite you to join us for the launch of a new report; an evaluation of St Basils ‘Live and Work’ model.

One in six young people in the UK cannot find work. In Birmingham, youth unemployment runs at double the national average. For young people without family support, the private rental market is unaffordable, untenable social housing waiting lists stretch to a decade, and the benefit system actively penalises those who secure employment. This is a structural failure with generational consequences.

St Basils’ Live and Work scheme was built as a direct response. Since opening in Sandwell in 2015, it has provided genuinely affordable accommodation (with rents set at or below Local Housing Allowance) to young people in employment who might otherwise be at risk of homelessness or trapped in the benefits system. Over 230 young people have passed through the scheme, and all paid their rent from earned income.

The scheme has received national recognition, winning the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Homelessness’ category in the National Housing Awards 2018 and ‘Homelessness Partnership of the Year’ in the 2020 UK National Housing Awards. St Basil’s Live and Work model has since expanded: 80 bed spaces opened in Birmingham city centre in 2025, and a further 28 self-contained units are now confirmed for Coventry.

A decade on from the first scheme in Sandwell, the Centre for the New Midlands has conducted an independent evaluation drawing on ten years of service user data, a detailed SROI analysis,  and in-depth interviews with young people residents and stakeholders. Behind the numbers are young people who described, often for the first time, being able to hold down a job, save money, and believe the future was something they could plan for.

This report launch presents the evaluation’s findings and recommendations at a significant moment: St Basils has recently secured a legislative exemption within the Renters Rights Act 2025 enabling Stepping Stone accommodation for young workers nationally – moving this model from local proof of concept to national policy agenda.

Join Jean Templeton, Chief Executive of St Basils and Chair of the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce, and the Centre for the New Midlands evaluation team led by Dr Halima Sacranie and Thea Raisbeck for an evidence-led conversation about social return on investment, the cost of inaction, and what it takes to give young people access to the one thing that makes everything else possible: somewhere affordable to live and work.”

This report launch event was made possible thanks to the generosity of our partners, Trowers & Hamlins.

Registration for this event is essential by visiting our event booking page.  Please note that this event has a limited capacity of 60.